HUNTINGTON -- With little money in the bank, Samuel and Rachel Glaser bought all the inventory of a small rummage store along 3rd Avenue in Huntington in 1946 following World War II.

Beginning with their guidance, the Glaser Furniture Co. would become the longest-operating family-owned furniture store in the city. Their sons, Norman and Herman, have carried on the tradition since the 1960s but are looking to a time when they can hand the business over to another member of the Glaser family.

Now, 63 years after the store was opened, Norman's son Howard Glaser has decided he wants to try his hand in the furniture business. The Glasers are hoping that under Howard's leadership, the store will be around for at least another 63 years.

Howard Glaser, 26, plans to become involved in the family business after he fulfills his commitment to teach in China for the next year. Running Glaser Furniture Co. was never part of Howard Glaser's plan, he said.

"But after spending time away, I'd like to be in Huntington where my friends and family are," Howard Glaser said.

Before opening the store, Samuel and Rachel Glaser lived in Huntington performing various jobs to support themselves and their kids. In 1946, they gathered up enough money to purchase all of the rummage items in a small 3,000-square-foot business in the 1900 block of 3rd Avenue.

They leased the space -- creating Glaser Furniture Co. in Huntington.

But since new furniture was hard to come by following WWII, the Glasers mostly sold items from the original rummage store. The family got their big break when the couple visited an estate sale where a well-to-do woman was selling her furniture following her husband's death.

Huntington furniture stores were all lobbying the woman to purchase the furniture, Norman Glaser said.

Rachel Glaser, who previously worked in an antiques store, said the woman's price of $600 was accurate, but the Glasers could not afford it. The woman, appreciating Rachel Glaser's honesty, said she'd accept $400. The Glasers borrowed $400 from the 20th Street Bank, then across the street from their store, and bought their first pieces of furniture, Norman Glaser said.

From that point, every penny the couple earned was put back into the business to purchase more inventory. Norman Glaser said his parents worked until the store was closed, then would spend much of the night with the kids making deliveries.

Seventeen years after they opened the store, the Glasers took their first family vacation, Norman Glaser said.

"They worked day and night," Norman Glaser said. "They put everything back into the business, and it continued to grow."

Business was booming, and the Glasers bought the building next to their store and continued expanding the store to 12,000 square feet. With greater space came more inventory and more help from their sons.

Norman and Herman Glaser spent much of their early life working at the store and helping their parents. Herman began working full time at the store in 1960, about 11 years before Norman came on full time in 1971.

The brothers took over the business after their mother died and their father moved away in the late 1970s. Herman, 68, handles the administration side of the business while Norman, 65, is in charge of the store's personnel and operations.

Both have been involved in trying to keep the store at its current location, contending with several different attempts over 30 years by Marshall University to either purchase the property or take it by eminent domain. The latest attempt ended in 2005 after the MU Board of Governors rescinded condemnation proceedings and chose to build a proposed recreation center elsewhere.

Norman and Herman Glaser said they are happiest when they are working with customers.

"I really enjoy talking to the customers and working with people," Herman Glaser said.

"I just love seeing the customers happy," Norman Glaser said. "You get a feeling of accomplishment when you see their satisfaction."

Their interactions with the customers are among the main reasons the store has thrived when other independent furniture stores went under, the Glasers said. The cheapest and best form of advertising is word of mouth, Herman Glaser said.

Treating the customers fairly and providing them with information about the products has kept customers coming to the institution for generations, the Glasers said. When they get a new line of furniture in, the Glaser brothers said they learn everything they can about it.

"We don't ever pressure the customers," Herman Glaser said. "That's what separates us from the larger, chain stores."

Howard Glaser said he will put in the necessary time in hopes of someday matching his father's and uncle's knowledge of furniture. He already has a pretty good sense of what it takes to run the Glaser Furniture Co. after working in the store since he was a kid. He's performed a number of jobs around the store, including moving, setting up, selling and transporting furniture.

But while they're confident in Howard's abilities, Norman and Herman Glaser said they'll probably never completely retire from the business. They will just reduce the hours they're in the store instead of leaving entirely.

"We really enjoy this business, and I don't think we'll ever really leave completely," Norman Glaser said.

AP Video

Lori Wolfe/The Herald-Dispatch

Norman Glaser, Howard Glaser and Herman Glaser stand in the upstairs showroom at Glaser Furniture Co. on 3rd Avenue in Huntington. Howard, NormanÕs son, is expected to take over the family business following its 63rd anniversary.

Purchase this photo